Reading the 82nd sonnet is quite pleasing, since it presents a figure who is so fair that actually it does them a disservice to have words in books and poems speak of the beauty, when really it would be so much better to let these words be used on those that badly need the flattery, and let the subject stand on their own, since it is a waste of the words to use them where they are not needed. It is nicely backwardly in a way that I found enjoyable, and it continues the odd run of sonnets where the writer talks down his own craft (or at least his craft in the hands of others).
Perhaps understandably the sonnet is set in a bookstore (the famous Strand bookstore in Manhattan), but I am not sure what it does that fits with the text. A man spies a woman in the elevator in the bookstore, and as she browses the books, he looks on – following her around the store, fixated by her. This continues until it appears she just vanishes and he cannot find her – although as he leaves he sees another really good looking woman and suddenly he is fixated on her. If there is a link to the text (which I assume there must be) then I am afraid it is lost on me. Perhaps the women are the manifestation of the words – and thus they are not as good as the original, and they ultimately do not exist as she did? Or maybe it is a Ghostbusters reference – an ode to Slimer? I am really not sure (although fairly sure it is not the second one) but I wasn't going with it, and even after several views, it still felt like a slightly creepy guy following female strangers around a public place.
This is a shame because it is very well made. The cinematographer is the wonderfully named Filippo Burbano Fantastichini, and he gives the film a very good look – very sharp, good color, and with plenty of shots which make very good use of the location. The second design is also good – although again, I am not sure what I was suppose to make of the Lost-esque whispering at the end. So a pleasing sonnet and a technically well-made short film – just a shame that these two things manage to exist in the same space here, but yet also still are so distinct from one another.
Perhaps understandably the sonnet is set in a bookstore (the famous Strand bookstore in Manhattan), but I am not sure what it does that fits with the text. A man spies a woman in the elevator in the bookstore, and as she browses the books, he looks on – following her around the store, fixated by her. This continues until it appears she just vanishes and he cannot find her – although as he leaves he sees another really good looking woman and suddenly he is fixated on her. If there is a link to the text (which I assume there must be) then I am afraid it is lost on me. Perhaps the women are the manifestation of the words – and thus they are not as good as the original, and they ultimately do not exist as she did? Or maybe it is a Ghostbusters reference – an ode to Slimer? I am really not sure (although fairly sure it is not the second one) but I wasn't going with it, and even after several views, it still felt like a slightly creepy guy following female strangers around a public place.
This is a shame because it is very well made. The cinematographer is the wonderfully named Filippo Burbano Fantastichini, and he gives the film a very good look – very sharp, good color, and with plenty of shots which make very good use of the location. The second design is also good – although again, I am not sure what I was suppose to make of the Lost-esque whispering at the end. So a pleasing sonnet and a technically well-made short film – just a shame that these two things manage to exist in the same space here, but yet also still are so distinct from one another.